A variety of corrugated cardboard pallets constructed with beam members and pallet deck plates of conventional technology have been proposed to replace metallic or wooden pallets that have conventionally been used in the transportation industry.
Corrugated cardboard pallets of conventional technology can roughly be classified into two types: (1) a “core” type, having a core of beam members bonded to the bottom surface of a pallet deck plate made of a flat corrugated cardboard, which is further wrapped into a roll or having a core of multiple flat corrugated cardboards stacked atop each other, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open publication JP5-34133 and Utility Model Laid-open publication JP6-78238; and (2) a “hollow” type, having hollow beam members, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model publication JP62-19543, Japanese Issued Patent JP2,693,715 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-open publication JP6-76053.
FIG. 11 illustrates a corrugated cardboard pallet B having hollow beam members in which pallet deck plates 68 and 69 are bonded onto three beam members 51. Each beam member 5-1 has a common-base platform 55 that is coupled by overlaying an inner plate 58 with another inner plate 58 on a common base platform 55. Two square prisms 53 and 54 are coupled via multiple struts 61 to retain a square prism shape.
FIG. 12 is a perspective bottom up view of beam member 51 on its way of being assembled. Beam member 51 is constructed in such a manner that outer plates 56, bottom plates 57, inner plates 58 are foldably coupled via folding lines at both edges of base platform 55 that is substantially the top plate in the order. A pair of slits 59 is provided in the middle of the upper edge of each inner plate 58. Strut-guiding slits 64 to be joined are provided at the points where strut-guiding slits 64 are joined with another slit 59 on inner plates 58.
Beam member 51 is assembled in a desired square prism shape by folding each of the inner plates 58 inside while making each of the struts 61 stand further outward from the position illustrated in FIG. 12 until struts 61 stand perpendicular to the base platform 55 so as to fit the top of strut 61 to the bottom of inner plates 58 through strut-guiding slits 64 to be joined.
The corrugated cardboard pallet thus assembled bears loads of as much as several hundred kilograms to several thousand kilograms, much better than it looks or the image that the raw materials impart.